Meal Planning 101 & Blueberry-Mango-Banana Smoothies

Have you ever walked through the grocery store without a plan, trying to come up with meals while shopping? This used to be my husband and me. We would have a rough list and we ended up buying things we did not need or forgetting things we did need. Now, I make a meal plan and have a very organized shopping list.

Here are nine tips to help you plan your meals:

1. Make a plan for all three meals and snacks for either one or two weeks.  I also include times we will be eating out. I write mine down on notebook paper, but I found these cool print-outs* that would work well.
2. Make a grocery list that is organized. I organize my list based on the layout of my grocery store; listing out produce, meat, dry goods, dairy and frozen food.
3. Try a few new recipes, but not too many. This keeps shopping and cooking interesting, but not too expensive.
4. Use cookbooks and food blogs (like this one!) for inspiration.
5. Account for leftovers in your meal plan. If I make something in the slow cooker, I always make sure it's on the plan for lunch or dinner later in the week.
6. Keep a recipe binder. Confession, I do not have one, but my pile of loose recipe papers really suggests I need one. This is great for family recipes or ones you print out.
7. Make sure you use all the groceries you buy. I always plan to eat things that will spoil early in the week.
8. Use your slow cooker for at least two recipes. This works great for busy days.
9. Don't go to the store hungry. Trust me, you will want to buy everything yummy in sight.
10. Be flexible with your meal plan. Sometimes you need to get take out instead of making the fancy dinner you had planned and that's okay.

Happy meal planning and grocery shopping!

Also, try this yummy Blueberry-Mango-Banana Smoothie.

BLUEBERRY-MANGO-BANANA SMOOTHIE

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup mango
• 1 whole banana
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 cup honey greek yogurt
• 2-5 ice cubes

Cooking Directions

1. Combine blueberries, mango and ice cubes and mix in blender
2. Add orange juice and yogurt, mix in blender
3. Add banana and a few more ice cubes, if needed
4. Enjoy this refreshing treat!

*http://moneysavingmom.com/downloads/meal-menu-planners

Rhubarb Apple Dessert Bars

They say that kids despise vegetables; I don't recall being that kid. It's possible I simply wasn't allowed to be... growing up we always had the "eat what's on your plate OR ELSE" rule. But maybe I was just the weird kid who didn't mind veggies. Here's to hoping our baby girl has this rare "love for vegetables" gene too!

The thing I do recall rejecting for a time was carrots. But as a whole I didn't hate them, it was the distasteful way they were presented to me. I think any vegetable has flavor potential, but some can taste horrific. It's all in how they're prepared. Or in my case, NOT.

My brother, sister and I were raised by my dad and he did the best he could with our motley crew! This involved feeding us decently healthy grub (not grubs). Being a single dad left little time for food prep. Often, before we could dive into our lunches (which normally consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, slathered with an unwelcomed mass of peanut butter and very minimal jelly), we had to choke down a whole, fat carrot stick. And by fat, I mean FAT. Talk about dry and revolting! The carrots we had couldn't be defined as juicy or flavorful. I'm convinced they'd been hanging out in the produce section at Walmart for years, possibly decades. They were always as dry as the desert and tasted awesomely bitter. Blech!

But my focus today won't rest on carrots. I simply wanted to share an awful vegetable experience in contrast to a great one. RHUBARB!

Ahh... this word and everything it represents makes me drool. It even sounds delicious, the way it rolls off your tongue. I suppose I favor it because it resembles fruit (or dessert) to me. Rhubarb pie = delish. Rhubarb crisp = amazing. Rhubarb cake = yum. Should I go on? 

Rhubarb is a perennial and it's the one edible plant we had growing in our yard. Talk about low maintenance! We never did anything with that plant, except ravage it, and it just kept shootin' up; a tasty well that never ran dry. An endless dessert ingredient until, of course, winter hit. Rhubarb is hardy but few things can withstand -50 temps (including me).

Maybe you share my affinity for rhubarb. Perhaps you're not too familiar with the taste. Either way, I think you're going to appreciate this perfect blend of tart and sweet! Share these bars with friends and family or just pig out on them yourselves (I won't judge). These bars are "melt in your mouth" yum! And go ahead and pretend they're healthy because they contain oatmeal, fruit AND a vegetable. 

First order of events? Get rhubarb. Pick it from your yard, get some from a generous friend who has plenty to share, go to the grocery store- whatever you need to do. I like to soak my rhubarb in a bowl of salty water to kill any creeping germs.

While your rhubarb is bathing, it's time to throw together the oatmeal crumble. Mix the dry crust & topping ingredients, then integrate the cold butter until the mixture is broken down into pea-sized pieces. 

I learned an AWESOME trick to mixing in the cold butter that I'm eager to share (those of you who own a food processor don't need this, but I don't own such a convenient contraption). I used to cut the butter in with two knives- major time consumer and super duper annoying! So I looked around for alternative ideas and came upon this one...

Wait for it...

FREEZE your butter sticks. Yep, freeze em' hard! Then shred the butter with your grater. Stick it back in the freezer to re-harden it, then mix it into your dry ingredients. This method is fast and way easier than cutting in the butter. Use it or lose it, but I feel like I unearthed gold!

Now that I've shared my newly acquired trick, we can move on. Scoop about half of the crumble mixture (around 2 cups) into the glass pan; put the rest in the refrigerator for later. Press the crumble down into the pan so that it's firm (I prefer to use my fingers) and stick this in the oven for a bit.

Then mix together the filling and spread this on top of the first hot layer. Cover and bake this until the rhubarb and apples are oh so soft.

Then, grab the remaining oatmeal crumble from the fridge and spread this evenly on top of the bars. Bake it until the top is beautifully browned. 

Pull the bars out of the oven and wah-lah! Let the bars cool for 2 hours, then dive in.

 

You can also eat these chilled and they're wonderfully refreshing!

 

"Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred."
Proverbs 15:17

 

RHUBARB APPLE DESSERT BARS

Prep time: 20 min.

Bake time: 45 min.

Yield: 16 bars

 

Crust and Topping Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 1 1/2 sticks cold butter (12 tbsp.)

 

Filling Ingredients   

• 2 1/2 cups washed & diced rhubarb
• 2 peeled & diced Granny Smith apples
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400. Grease or spray bottom of an 8x8 or 9x9 inch glass pan.
2. Mix dry ingredients for crust and topping. Integrate grated, cold butter until mixture has a pea-sized consistency (read blog for details).
3. Press about half (appx. 2 cups) of the crumble into the bottom of the greased pan. Put the rest in the refrigerator. Bake this first layer for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, mix the filling ingredients. Once layer #1 is done baking, spread the fruit mixture on top. Cover with tin foil and bake another 15 minutes or until rhubarb and apples are soft.
5. Grab the remaining crumble from the fridge and spread it on top of the filling layer. Reduce oven to 375 and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Cool for 2 hours. Serve bars alone or with vanilla ice cream.  

 

Chicken & Vegetable Coconut Curry

I love curry. It is delicious and spicy. When I first got married my main dish was barbeque chicken. I literally took raw chicken breasts and drenched them with a copious amount of barbeque sauce straight from the bottle. Then I would cook them for a long time, to ensure that I did not cause my husband to get salmonella.

So, as a newbie cook just a few years ago, I did not ever imagine I could make something as amazing and complex as curry. Well, I have news for you. I can make curry and so can you. Making it is not complex and, in my opinion, it's fun. I feel like a fancy chef in a five star restaurant, and I am not going to lie, I think it tastes pretty yummy. For this recipe I had my husband, mom, neighbor and toddler test it out. They all gave it two thumbs up. So, here is a super yummy chicken and vegetable coconut curry!

Start by cooking your chicken and then shred it into small pieces. Take 3 peppers (I used yellow and orange ones, but red would add a nice pop of color) and slice them into small strips. Put them into a skillet with about one tablespoon of oil. Begin cooking them on medium heat. Thinly slice yellow squash and zucchini and add them to the skillet.

Once the vegetables are cooked (I like mine really soft since toddlers are eating this dish), add the chicken and coconut milk. Let the coconut milk cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes and add the three tablespoons of red curry (less or more depending on your spicy preferences). This is when I generally start cooking the jasmine rice, per instructions on the box. Once curry is mixed in, let it simmer for another 5-10 minutes.

Add two teaspoons of cornstarch to the skillet and mix in. The sauce should thicken as you bring down the heat. Serve over rice and enjoy!

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4 (NIV)

CHICKEN & VEGETABLE COCONUT CURRY

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Yield: 4 people

Ingredients

• 3 peppers (different colors)
• 1 zucchini
• 3 yellow squash
• 2 1/2 cups cooked chicken
• 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• 3 tbsp red curry paste
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
•  salt to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Cook chicken in boiling water, then shred
2. Meanwhile, cut vegetables (slice peppers into small strips, cut squash and zucchini thin)
3. In a large skillet, throw in a tablespoon of oil and bring to medium heat
4. Toss in peppers, cook for a few minutes and then add squash and zucchini
5. Add shredded chicken and coconut milk once vegetables are cooked (I like mine soft so they soak up the curry sauce)
6. Put curry paste into the skillet, stir and let heat for 5-10 minutes
7. Add cornstarch and salt, stir, turn down heat and let thicken while dish cools
8. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Crockpot Boneless Pork Ribs

Ground beef is a glorious protein. So simple...so good. It tastes delicious in spaghetti, casseroles, meatloaf and soups. But sheesh, it's gotten expensive! Call me cheap (I prefer frugal), but I refuse to pay 4-7 bucks for a pound of meat! If I resolved to buy fattier beef it would demand a little less from my pocket; I do lean towards leaner (get the pun?). But even the greasiest options are expensive. So... goodbye for now, ground beef. I'm on a mission to save cash by making cheaper proteins delicious! My husband's totally on board- he's more frugal than me (we're meant to be...).

We live in a small village and don't have the luxury of saving a ton with coupons. In such a peewee community competition is limited. We get sales, sure, but rarely coupons. Each week we receive fliers in the mail from the two local grocery stores, highlighting their "sweet" deals. This week, country-style boneless pork ribs were on sale for $1.87 a pound. Jackpot! I'm fairly new to cooking with pork, but I made a recipe that was incredibly yum. The meat was so tender it just fell apart in our mouths!

I'm blessed to come from a family of men who can't shut up if they like a meal. If their taste buds are pleased, the world hears about it for the next hour (minimum). You hear repeated comments like "This meal is to DIE for!" and "Mmmm, this is DELICIOUS!" I won't lie, it's kinda nice... talk about affirmation! My husband has many awesome, great, amazing qualities, but this one he doesn't possess. He'll let it be known if he likes something, sure, but often 10 minutes into digesting it. Oh the suspense! I do appreciate his honesty though when he DISLIKES something. Strange, huh? But I prefer to know if what I made was repulsive or if he could "take it or leave it." If I'm going to work in the kitchen, I want it to be worth it.

When Jason took a bite of this pork recipe, I got an immediate response; it was a keeper. My dad was visiting us and he raved about it too. This is definitely a recipe I will make again and again. And the best part? It was done in a crockpot and crockpots bring me joy. There's something about throwing everything together in the morning that's leagues better than scampering to figure things out in the afternoon; at least in my world. Plus (major perk), you get to smell the wonderful aromas all day! 

My guess is you're looking for recipes that are tasty and easy. Days can be wild. Simple recipes are paramount! Well, good news, this recipe took me 10-15 minutes to prep (tops). 

Begin by heating olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Meanwhile, take the pork and salt and pepper both sides of each rib. 

*Note: Freshly ground peppercorns have the best flavor. Freshly ground sea salt is fabulous too (although you need a good grinder, if you're grinding a lot, so you don't pull your hair out! I speak from experience...).

Gently place the ribs in the skillet and sear each side for just under 1 minute. Be careful not to burn or overcook the pork. 

Once the ribs are seared, transfer them to the crockpot. Now, easy as 1,2,3, throw the remaining ingredients into the crockpot on low and move on with your day! 

Smell the delicious aromas venture through your house for 6-10 hours. Mmmm... nothing like prepping your taste buds for that sweet, tangy flavor! I served these ribs with homemade mashed potatoes and peas. I'm sure they'd also be great served with rice and a veggie of your choice... happy cooking!

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him!" Psalm 34:8

Hawaiian Crockpot Boneless Pork Ribs

Prep time: 10-15 min.

Cook time: 6-10 hours

Yield: About 4-6 servings

 

 Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 6 country-style boneless pork ribs
• salt and pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3/4 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 1/2 cups ketchup
• 2 1/2 tbsp. spicy mustard
• 2 (8 oz.) cans crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

 

Cooking Directions

1. Place the oil in a large skillet and heat on medium-high until oil runs quickly in the pan.
2. Meanwhile, salt and pepper both sides of the boneless ribs, then place them in the heated oil. Sear both sides for just under1 minute each. Place ribs in the crockpot.
3. Add the remaining ingredients. Make sure the ribs are covered in sauce.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Enjoy!     

Thyme for Grace: Food Made with Love

Welcome! Thyme for Grace is a blog about FOOD, FAMILY and GRACE. We are Spring and Hannah and are privileged to be cousin-in-laws (is that even a thing?). We are mothers to some pretty adorable babies and we have super stellar husbands who support us through all the ups and downs of motherhood. We had this crazy idea that maybe with the extra accountability of each other we could start a blog and write about food!

WHY FOOD?

Everyone has to eat and we love to cook. Now, we don’t pretend to be gourmet chefs, but we love to search high and low for new recipes and even create some of our own. Here, we will write about our successes and probably tell a few stories about our flops in the kitchen. Come here to find recipes, inspiration for your next meal and tips for meal planning and grocery shopping. Our cooking is not limited to stuff you cannot afford, recipes that are too complicated and dietary restrictions that are not realistic. We just want to cook reasonably healthy food that will feed your taste buds and your body... and ours!

WHY FAMILY?

We cook for our families. We both have children and husbands that need nourishment and we love that it is part of our role to prepare the food (sometimes our husbands DO cook, but we do better...humbly said). Hopefully our blog will help give you ideas to feed your growing family. We will post ideas for quick dinners, Sunday suppers, desserts, snack time and more. The possibilities are endless!

WHY GRACE?

As Christ followers we are daily reminded of God’s provision through the food we eat. Thyme for Grace is the name of our blog and at the root of our hearts. We want to acknowledge that the resources we have are from God and we ultimately want to say “Grace” and thank Him for those resources. Also, as mothers, we all need a little bit of grace. We all lead busy, hectic lives and are constantly pressured to be perfect mothers (even in our cooking), but perfection often is not attainable. We need grace with one another, grace to extend to ourselves when our cooking isn’t perfect and grace even when we resolve to get “take out.”

Thank you for stopping by our blog and remember to check back soon for some food fun!

May you have a grace filled day,

Spring & Hannah